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I'm enjoying, lately, a renewed enjoyment of vices of yesteryear: coffee and beer. Don't worry, I'm not the worst mother in the world. The coffee is primarily decaf (also organic and fair trade), and I only have one beer a day. But oh! The enjoyment! I normally have a latte first thing in the morning, but have added an extra one (either latte or brew in the coffee press) after McPie leaves for work. It accompanies me while either pumping breastmilk (if Tim is napping or calm in his chair -- I wonder if he's jealous when he watches me pump?), or changing diapers, or on a video skype call with my sister.

We never used to drink much beer around here; we are wine drinkers, with the odd beer after frisbee or while doing yardwork in the summer. But now, each day around 4 o'clock or so, I get the craving. Just one refreshing brewsky while I bounce the baby on the ball while watching Angel on DVD with the kids, or folding laundry or prepping supper... (Did I just write "brewsky?") The beer signals the end of the alone part of the day, and begins the family part of the day and the anticipation Dad coming home.

It's true, I drink alcohol while nursing. My mom tells me that she was told to drink beer while nursing my sister, to help with milk production and flow. While this may be another outdated axiom of the previous generation (like "crying is good for their lungs")... This one I like, so I'll take it as mother's wisdom.

Anyway, these are a few little pleasures that help perk up the sometimes-tedious days, when I'm not getting an enormous kick out of diaper changes*. (There is also streaming video of Grey's Anatomy re-runs, which make me glad I spent years not watching TV -- now I have something to do while folding laundry or cajoling the baby into a nap!)

Timothy, too, has a newfound simple pleasure. He's finally old enough to be fascinated by the lights and sounds of his swing!



*I'm actually serious about getting a kick out of diaper changes. There's not much cuter or sweeter than a naked baby, and Timothy LOVES his change table. It's the one place he can be counted on to laugh and "chat" and be generally playful. We spend a lot of time there.